I came across this photo earlier in the week and had to take action. Super silly, fantastically funky, awesomely awkward (action) that is….
WHAT IS SO CRUCIAL IN YOUR LIFE THAT MUST BE DONE TODAY, RIGHT NOW, AT THIS VERY MOMENT NO QUESTION ABOUT IT?? Does it matter in terms of eternity whether or not you get it done today? Only you can say (and you may determine the answer to be yes?) I cannot say that life is void of these situations where timing is of the essence and things really cannot wait, BUT…if you’re not careful every situation can turn into a matter of life and death and then things become unrealistically serious for both you and those in proximity.
In the last several years I have had a great deal of trouble making this adjustment in my life. I would often find myself missing the important for what I deemed “urgent.” As far as urgent goes, I have applied the following practice to most of the decisions I make on a regular basis…
“In light of my past experience, my current circumstances and my future hopes and dreams…will this decision matter one year from now? If the answer to that question is yes, I take it one step further. (By the way, if the answer to that question is no, I drop the “urgent” from the situation and move on.) The next question I ask…”will this decision matter one month from now?” Again, if the answer is no, I tread more lightly and remove the urgency. If the answer is still yes, I ask myself the 3rd and final question…”will this decision matter one week from now?”
All I am doing is adding perspective and it is amazing the impact it has had on my life. I find myself fixing my focus on the longer term more so that I used to. This allows me to design a longer term future dedicated for aspirations. I tend to assign a period of 10 to 25 years for this time period. These aspirations I more narrowly shape by one year targets. My one year targets are desired outcomes that will come as a result of my 90 day activities. These activities are what matters most for 2 primary reasons. #1. These are the things that I control and thus have the ability to impact. #2. They are short term so I can visualize them happening. These I take very seriously because if they do not get done, I have no one else to blame but myself!
I share all of this with you to say that I have learned to take myself much less serious on a regular basis. Life is not about me and I hate to admit that it has taken me the better part of 30 years to reach this conclusion. If you can benefit even an iota from my experience, well then my servitude has been worth it!